Course: Unit Operations 1 (Transport Phenomena)
Practical 4: Heat Transfer in a Solid Plate
Objective
Model steady-state conditions from one-dimensional conduction in a plane wall having a
thermal conductivity k = 1.2 W/m.K and thickness L = 0.2 m, with no internal generation.
Area = 1.5m2
T1 =120 0C
T2 = 50 0C
T1
T2
L
a) Determine the temperature at x= 0.1 m
b) Find the rate of heat transfer through the wall
Step 1: Setting Up Your COMSOL Workspace
1. Open COMSOL Multiphysics.
2. In the Model Wizard:
o Select 2D as the space dimension.
o Under Physics, choose Heat Transfer in Solids (ht).
o Click Study and select Stationary.
o Click Done to create your workspace.
Step 2: Creating the Geometry
1. Navigate to the Geometry node.
2. Create a rectangular plate:
o Go to Geometry > Rectangle.
o Set Width and Height
o Click Build All to generate the shape.
Step 3: Defining Boundary Conditions
1. Navigate to the Heat Transfer in Solids (ht) node.
2. Solids: Select Solids, enter the thermal conductivity (k)
3. Temperature : In the Physics toolbar, click Temperature.
o Select Boundaries 1 only.
o Enter temperature (T1) Temperature 2
4. Temperature: In the Physics toolbar, click Temperature.
o Select Boundary 7 only.
o Enter temperature (T2).
5. The remaining edges are assumed to be thermally insulated (default).
Step 4: Setting Up the Mesh
1. Navigate to the Mesh node.
2. Choose Physics-Controlled Mesh and select Fine.
3. Click Build All to generate the mesh.
Step 5: Running the Simulation
1. Navigate to the Study node.
2. Click Compute to run the simulation.
Step 6: Visualizing Results
6.1 Temperature Distribution (Surface Plot)
1. Navigate to the Results node.
2. Click Surface Plot and select Temperature (T).
3. Adjust the color legend to improve clarity.
4. Click Plot to visualize the temperature distribution.
6.2 For Temperature at x=0.1m
1. Select Derived Values>Average>Line Average
2. Select Boundary 4.
3. Change the unit for temperature to degC.
4. Click Evaluate
6.3 For rate of heat transfer through the wall
1. Select Derived Values>Average>Line Average
2. Select Boundary 7.
3. At Expression>Heat Transfer in Solids> Domain Fluxes>Conductive heat flux>Conductive
heat flux, x component
Step 7:
1. Save COMSOL file
2. Save COMSOL Images